This qualitative study explores factors affecting the implementation of an elementary science curriculum in three schools in northern Saskatchewan. Data gathered from thirteen elementary level teachers indicate that most teachers interviewed possess a general vision of ideal science teaching and learning close to that presented in the provincial curriculum, but that most teachers believe that they are a considerable distance away from translating that vision into reality. Data indicate that few teachers use the curriculum on a regular basis or possess detailed familiarity with its components.<p>A variety of generic factors not unique to the north are creating challenges for teachers striving to implement the science curriculum. Tight timelines for implementation, as well as challenges such as class size, limited inservice availability, and infrequent networking opprtunities were identified as challenges. Many challenges were linked to the need to refine or acquire skills made more necessary by new curricula, as well as by other provincial and regional initiatives. The need to address such skill deficits is felt by most teachers, but is felt most acutely by those who are not recent graduates of teacher-training programs or those who rely primarily on locally available professional development within the context of the regular school year and setting.<p>Teachers in this study indicated that a greater degree of instructional leadership at the school division and school level would assist them in their efforts to implement mandated changes. Concern was also expressed that little monitoring of the implementation process by either their school division or by the provincial government had taken place.<p>A variety of factors unique to the North were identified as affecting implementation efforts. Teachers found the curriculum to be easily adapted for northern needs, as well as appropriate for students for whom English is a second language. General funding levels and special school division initiatives were also seen as helpful. Respondents, however, identified socioeconomic factors, questionable levels of instructional leadership, as well as distance between community and school as serious challenges to implementation.<p>This study confirms current research indicating that managing changes such as the implementation of an elementary science curriculum is a complex venture necessitating organizational and operational changes at school, school division, and provincial levels to encourage and support efforts to make schools learning organizations for both students and teachers. The study concludes with several recommended areas of further research, as well as with several specific action recommendations to assist with the implementation of new curricula.

This qualitative study explores factors affecting the implementation of an elementary science curriculum in three schools in northern Saskatchewan. Data gathered from thirteen elementary level teachers indicate that most teachers interviewed possess a general vision of ideal science teaching and learning close to that presented in the provincial curriculum, but that most teachers believe that they are a considerable distance away from translating that vision into reality. Data indicate that few teachers use the curriculum on a regular basis or possess detailed familiarity with its components.<p>A variety of generic factors not unique to the north are creating challenges for teachers striving to implement the science curriculum. Tight timelines for implementation, as well as challenges such as class size, limited inservice availability, and infrequent networking opprtunities were identified as challenges. Many challenges were linked to the need to refine or acquire skills made more necessary by new curricula, as well as by other provincial and regional initiatives. The need to address such skill deficits is felt by most teachers, but is felt most acutely by those who are not recent graduates of teacher-training programs or those who rely primarily on locally available professional development within the context of the regular school year and setting.<p>Teachers in this study indicated that a greater degree of instructional leadership at the school division and school level would assist them in their efforts to implement mandated changes. Concern was also expressed that little monitoring of the implementation process by either their school division or by the provincial government had taken place.<p>A variety of factors unique to the North were identified as affecting implementation efforts. Teachers found the curriculum to be easily adapted for northern needs, as well as appropriate for students for whom English is a second language. General funding levels and special school division initiatives were also seen as helpful. Respondents, however, identified socioeconomic factors, questionable levels of instructional leadership, as well as distance between community and school as serious challenges to implementation.<p>This study confirms current research indicating that managing changes such as the implementation of an elementary science curriculum is a complex venture necessitating organizational and operational changes at school, school division, and provincial levels to encourage and support efforts to make schools learning organizations for both students and teachers. The study concludes with several recommended areas of further research, as well as with several specific action recommendations to assist with the implementation of new curricula.

The purpose of this descriptive, mixed-method study was to explore a possible relationship between teacher beliefs and their philosophy of teaching. A theoretical framework depicted connections among levels of science anxiety and science teaching self-efficacy, and their influences on elementary teacher instructional preferences for a traditional or inquiry-based model of instruction. A card-sorting methodology was adapted to create an interview protocol that examined teacher instructional practices within the framework of an inquiry continuum. Teacher groups were identified quantitatively with two existing instruments to examine science anxiety and science teaching self-efficacy. Subtests of both the Science State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI) were administered through an online survey and completed by 86 elementary teachers of science in a large urban school district. From the survey data teachers were grouped by levels of anxiety and self-efficacy in order to further examine their beliefs. Results identified three groups of teachers meriting additional investigation - low anxiety and high self-efficacy, high anxiety and low self-efficacy, and high anxiety and high self-efficacy. From these groups, eight total participants were interviewed using a semi-structured protocol consisting of a science teaching scenario card sort and open-ended questions to classify groups of teachers as primarily learner- or teacher-centered, and preferring a traditional or inquiry-based method of instruction. Based on qualitative coding for levels of inquiry and responses to questions probing teacher beliefs and practices, all of the teachers were classified as preferring a primarily teacher-centered model of instruction, thus upholding the theoretical framework for the high anxiety groups. In contradiction to the expectations described in the theoretical framework, the low anxiety and high self-efficacy group stated one of the strongest preferences for traditional instruction. In conclusion the low anxiety group may have preferred a traditional approach in order to meet campus expectations of instructional strategies that promote passing scores on standardized tests. Implications suggest that explicit instruction is needed on the essential features of inquiry for teachers during the preservice and induction phase of their careers, and additional professional development support for practicing elementary teachers. / text

Federal educational policy, No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, focused attention on America’s education with conspicuous results. One aspect, highly qualified classroom teacher and principal (HQ), was taxing since states established individual accountability structures. The HQ impact and use of data-informed decision-making (DIDM) for Texas elementary science education monitoring by campus administrators, Campus Instruction Leader (CILs), provides crucial relationships to 5th grade students’ learning and achievement. Forty years research determined improved student results when sustained, supported, and focused professional development (PD) for teachers is available. Using mixed methods research, this study applied quantitative and qualitative analysis from two, electronic, on-line surveys: Texas Elementary, Intermediate or Middle School Teacher Survey© and the Texas Elementary Campus Administrator Survey© with results from 22.3% Texas school districts representing 487 elementary campuses surveyed. Participants selected in random, stratified sampling of 5th grade teachers who attended local Texas Regional Collaboratives science professional development (PD) programs between 2003-2008. Survey information compared statistically to campus-level average passing rate scores on the 5th grade science TAKS using Statistical Process Software (SPSS). Written comments from both surveys analyzed with Qualitative Survey Research (NVivo) software. Due to the level of uncertainty of variables within a large statewide study, Mauchly’s Test of Sphericity statistical test used to validate repeated measures factor ANOVAs. Although few individual results were statistically significant, when jointly analyzed, striking constructs were revealed regarding the impact of HQ policy applications and elementary CILs use of data-informed decisions on improving 5th grade students’ achievement and teachers’ PD learning science content. Some constructs included the use of data-warehouse programs; teachers’ applications of DIDM to modify lessons for differentiated science instruction, the numbers of years’ teachers attended science PD, and teachers’ influence on CILs staffing decisions. Yet CILs reported 14% of Texas elementary campuses had limited or no science education programs due to federal policy requirement for reading and mathematics. Three hypothesis components were supported and accepted from research data resulted in two models addressing elementary science, science education PD, and CILs impact for federal policy applications. / text

This study explores the influence of mentor teachers in the meanings and practices that two elementary preservice teachers adopted about eliciting and using student ideas, while learning to teach science in the university science methods course and in the field placement classroom. Prior research on teacher development has shown that the high-leverage practice of eliciting and using student ideas can support preservice teachers in thinking about common problems of practice. I used four core problems of practice to examine the meanings and practices that preservice teachers adopted in eliciting and using student ideas as they planned, enacted and reflected on methods course assignments in the field placement classroom. Using sociocultural and situative perspectives on learning, I identified two factors that influenced the sense that preservice teachers constructed and the practices that they adopted about eliciting and using student ideas. These factors were mentor teacher's perspectives on learning and goals for student learning. I also examined three mechanisms by which mentor teacher's perspectives and goals influenced preservice teacher meanings and practices about eliciting and using student ideas in instruction, including mentor teacher's classroom practice, the nature and foci of mentor teacher and preservice teacher conversations and mentor teacher's use of preservice teachers' ideas in their conversations about instruction. The results suggest that preservice teachers come to make sense of and use student ideas in their instruction in ways that closely align with those of their mentors. They also indicate that preservice teachers' integration of experiences from different learning-to-teach contexts in making sense of student ideas may be related to the degree of alignment between mentor teachers' perspectives and goals and the perspectives and goals of the science methods course.

Despite the positive outcomes for inquiry-based science education and recommendations from national and state standards, many teachers continue to rely upon more traditional methods of instruction This causal-comparative study was designed to determine the effects of the Inquiry Institute, a professional development program that is intended to strengthen science teachers' pedagogical knowledge and provide practice with inquiry methods based from a constructivist approach. This study will provide a understanding of a cause and effect relationship within three levels of the independent variable-length of participation in the Inquiry Institute (zero, three, or six days)-to determine whether or not the three groups differ on the dependent variables-beliefs, implementation, and barriers. Quantitative data were collected with the Science Inquiry Survey, a researcher-developed instrument designed to also ascertain qualitative information with the use of open-ended survey items. One-way ANOVAs were applied to the data to test for a significant difference in the means of the three groups. The findings of this study indicate that lengthier professional development in the Inquiry Institute holds the most benefits for the participants.

The majority of Grade 5 students demonstrate limited science knowledge on state assessments. This trend has been documented since 2010 with no evidence of improvement. Because state accountability formulas include proficiency scores and carry sanctions against districts that fail to meet proficiency thresholds, improved student performance in science is an important issue to school districts. The purpose of this study was to explore elementary teachers' perceptions about their students' science knowledge, the strategies used to teach science, the barriers affecting science teaching, and the self-efficacy beliefs teachers maintain for teaching science. This study, guided by Vygotsky's social constructivist theory and Bandura's concept of self-efficacy, was a bounded instrumental case study in which 15 participants, required to be teaching K-5 elementary science in the county, were interviewed. An analytic technique was used to review the qualitative interview data through open coding, clustering, and analytical coding resulting in identified categorical themes that addressed the research questions. Key findings reflect students' limited content knowledge in earth and physical science. Teachers identified barriers including limited science instructional time, poor curricular resources, few professional learning opportunities, concern about new state standards, and a lack of teaching confidence. To improve student content knowledge, teachers identified the need for professional development. The project is a professional development series provided by a regional education service agency for K-5 teachers to experience science and engineering 3-dimensional learning. Area students will demonstrate deeper science content knowledge and benefit from improved science instructional practice and learning opportunities to become science problem solvers and innovative contributors to society.

This case study investigated the potential of a place-based watershed curriculum, using STEM principles, to increase watershed literacy and knowledge of human impacts on stormwater in the environment. A secondary goal was to examine whether the place-based connection and increased exposure to issues within their local watershed impacted the students' environmental attitudes and sense of place. Over 500 sixth graders participated in this localized curriculum, where they learned the science behind watershed issues on their own school campuses. They focused on ways humans can monitor and mitigate their impacts on stormwater, through engineering investigations. The mixed-method research study investigated the effectiveness of the OLWEDU curriculum, to address these key questions: 1) To what degree did the OLWEDU increase the students' combined watershed literacy? 2) To what extent did the OLWEDU affect their environmental attitudes? 3) How did using a STEM oriented and place-based curriculum make the learning more relevant? In order to provide a solid triangulation of data, this study used a quasi-experimental design format with multiple measures: a) A Pre-Posttest (PPT), was given to all of the students to gather quantitative changes in knowledge of watershed concepts, stormwater issues related to human impacts on the environment, and engineering techniques; b) A constructed-knowledge questionnaire (CKQ) was used with forty four of the participants, to gather additional quantitative data on the students' local watershed knowledge; c) an environmental attitudes survey (EAS) was included in this sub-sample group; d) interviews were conducted with ten of the students to examine their opinions on the STEM aspects of the curriculum in addition to the place-based connections between the unit and their community. The statistically significant results showed increases in overall watershed literacy, knowledge of human impacts on stormwater, engineering principles, and environmental attitudes. These findings will be used to improve the current curriculum, and have broader implications concerning the benefits of using a formalized middle-school 21st century standards-based curriculum to teach watershed literacy and promote pro-environmental attitudes by using a combination of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math in a local, place-based context.

The problem, to make a study of the elementary science programs in leading schools of Texas and other Southern states as compared with the course of study from the Thirty-first Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, was chosen as a result of the realization that elementary science has not been given the place in the curriculum that it should have.

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